Inflation

Most readers know that food and fuel costs have risen significantly, but we can put this in perspective. Inflation for July 2008 was at 5.6 percent, which is certainly considerably higher than the 2007 average of 2.85 percent. You have to go back to 1990 to see inflation at nearly this rate, where the annual average was 5.39 percent. Bad, yes, but not as bad as 1980, when inflation was 13.58 percent nor as good as my birth year of 1959, which stood at 1.01 percent. Before we go too far, let us define inflation: "an increase in the price you pay or a decline in the purchasing power of money," according to the Web site InflationData.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Pennsylvania's 253 full-time legislators will receive their annual cost-of-living salary increases on Saturday, pushing their annual pay to more than $76,000. The adjustment of 3.5 percent, or at least $2,550, is designed to soothe the sting of inflation for top policy makers, the Associated Press reported Monday. "It fluctuates greatly, and this is the largest one I've ever seen," said state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin/Cumberland. The increase - put into law in 1995 - is based on an index, Kauffman said.

The price to send a first-class letter will increase to 41 cents on Monday. David Partenheimer, a spokesman with the U.S. Postal Service, said postage is increased to help adjust for inflation, and typically covers the postal service's operating expenses, such as the costs associated with fuel and employee benefits. Partenheimer said the USPS introduced the Forever stamp last month. The stamp can be purchased for 41 cents, and retains its first-class value regardless of future postage rate increases, he said.

Now that we've WON, or Whipped Onflation Now, (Jerry Ford never made any arrangements for tense) what are we to do? Two years ago, the professional worriers all wrote that economic growth had to stop and that the lengthy run of low inflation positively had to end because that's just the way the market system works. But today growth is continuing and inflation is at 1 percent in the G7 nations, which are not to be confused with the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Sweden or any of the other G-string nations.

NEW YORK (AP) - A late-session selloff kept stocks narrowly mixed Thursday as cautious investors took what little profits they could from a disappointing week marked by an interest rate hike and inflation concerns. All three major indexes saw their third straight week of losses. Economic data pointing to modest growth gave investors enough courage to find bargains after the week's selloff. With orders for durable goods - those made to last more than three years - rising by just 0.3 percent in February, investors felt that demand was sluggish enough to forestall rising prices.

Many will pay To the editor: In answer to David D. Pool and his article in the Opinion Page March 13. First of all I do not hate the homosexual no matter how perverted and twisted they are. As a Bible Christian I cannot hate them or any other faction like the KKK or any such deceived and misled group. We are taught by God's word to love their soul and yours too, Mr. Pool, if you are one of these. We do not love their sin as the Bible teaches us but we do care about their after-death destination and final abode.

Elderly are being squeezed To the editor: We older America people next year will get the smallest annual cost-of-living raise in 12 years. It amounts to $10 a month. It seems to me that nothing is coming down but that. My sewage and water bill went up. I still use the same amount of water each month. My Medicare supplement insurance went up this year. Every time Medicare goes up, it does too. I've heard people say when they get a raise in Social Security their rent goes up on their apartment.

Elsewhere on this page are a couple of letters criticizing my decision to use a political cartoon on the late President Gerald Ford on Dec. 29. We've also gotten phone calls with the same message - the cartoon was insulting to a man who stepped into the presidency at a crucial time in our nation's history. If you didn't see the cartoon, it showed the late president, his legs tangled up in a golf bag and a lamp cord, leaping to catch a vase President Nixon was knocking off a pedestal.

The Waynesboro Summer Jubilee Committee is actively preparing for its 17th annual patriotic celebration to be held on the Fourth of July on the grounds across from Waynesboro Hospital. This year's festivities will be highlighted by local musical entertainment from the Drew Adams Project from 4 to 6 p.m. and Lucky Punk at 7 p.m. All entertainment is free. The Firecracker 5K Run also will take place in conjunction with the Summer Jubilee. The 5K run will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the children's 1-mile fun run will begin at 8 a.m. Registration forms for the races are available at the Waynesboro Area YMCA, the Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce and on the Summer Jubilee website, www.summerjubilee.org.

Kids couldn't get enough Sunday of a 59-foot-long inflatable train at Railroad Heritage Days. Going through the bouncy train time after time, kids were smiling whether they were stepping, crawling or falling out of the opening in the locomotive's face. “He loves trains,” said Hagerstown resident Eddie Oliver, 31, of his son, Zac, 5. Zac said his favorite part of the inflatable train was the slide. After going through the train nine times, Zac was raring to go for another trip, or two, or three.

The weather was better than the fortunes of the Hagerstown Community College men's soccer team on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks had problems changing those fortunes as Howard Community College took control for 3-1 victory in a Maryland JuCo Conference match. “Basically, we came out flat and we had no intensity,” Hagerstown coach Brian Eichelberger said. “I thought that was the key to the game. Against a team like this, you have to play intense. They were much quicker and we were too slow to the ball.

Future generations deserve a better economic course To the editor: Kudos to Catherine Webb for her letter to the editor published Aug. 25 ( "It's up to us to fix our economic problems," page A4). How refreshing and yet convicting for a young woman to write so clearly and concisely about what I believe to be the true heart of the matter. She challenges us to "wake up, people. " And that "the poor state of affairs is your fault. " This is not a partisan rant, but a genuine question of what will we leave to future generations.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that the weak economy likely will keep prices in check despite growing concerns that the trillions it's pumping into the financial system will ignite inflation. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues held a key bank lending rate at a record low of between zero and 0.25 percent, and pledged again to keep it there for "an extended period" to help brace activity going forward. Even though energy and other commodity prices have risen recently, the Fed said inflation will remain "subdued for some time.

"I can't understand why people are complaining about the sheriff getting a raise, when we are paying Mrs. Nipps $50,000 for a 20-hour-a-week job at PenMar. Does that sound right to you?" -- Clear Spring "Hyper-inflation (really high inflation) occurs when the public realizes that the government is bent on inflation and decides to evade the inflationary tax on its resources by spending as fast as possible while it still retains some value. Hang on to your pocketbooks, folks; this 'stimulus spending' will eventually bring 'skyrocketing' prices.

Ever since the inflatable tire was invented, manufacturers have been advising us to maintain the recommended air pressure. Recently, tire-inflation monitoring devices have become mandatory in new vehicles, so where does that leave your used-but-not-abused family hauler? Now everyone can have the same piece-of-mind protection with a set of Air Alert valve caps from Aviation Upgrade Technology. The firm's battery-powered, chrome-plated valve cap will set off a blinking red light on units designed for passenger cars and light-duty trucks whenever the air pressure in your tire falls to four psi (pounds per square inch)

Most readers know that food and fuel costs have risen significantly, but we can put this in perspective. Inflation for July 2008 was at 5.6 percent, which is certainly considerably higher than the 2007 average of 2.85 percent. You have to go back to 1990 to see inflation at nearly this rate, where the annual average was 5.39 percent. Bad, yes, but not as bad as 1980, when inflation was 13.58 percent nor as good as my birth year of 1959, which stood at 1.01 percent. Before we go too far, let us define inflation: "an increase in the price you pay or a decline in the purchasing power of money," according to the Web site InflationData.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Pennsylvania's 253 full-time legislators will receive their annual cost-of-living salary increases on Saturday, pushing their annual pay to more than $76,000. The adjustment of 3.5 percent, or at least $2,550, is designed to soothe the sting of inflation for top policy makers, the Associated Press reported Monday. "It fluctuates greatly, and this is the largest one I've ever seen," said state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin/Cumberland. The increase - put into law in 1995 - is based on an index, Kauffman said.